Once I got to high school and auditioned for a play and got in, I thought this was really what I was looking for. Once that had got cleared up, from 13 on, that was it.
I was always much more shy. All I knew was that I loved to act. But I don't know about the other part of it. I'm not sure I had the chutzpah to go and prove yourself.
I think of myself more as a character actor than that ingenue leading lady, who started out something like Michelle Pfeiffer, or Jessica Lange. I'm a bit quirkier than that.
I think the people who cast films tend to think of me in regard to strong women with integrity and a lot of it has been very good.
I just try and do the best with every role I get to do. Hopefully the experience in itself is a good experience and people will want to work with me.
There are not many things that can happen much worse to a family than having a member taken and not knowing what happened to them.
I don't get tons of scripts to be looking at and deciding on in terms of feature films; the industry has changed. Fortunately, with television and streaming and original series online, there's this whole new thing that has opened up, which I think is fantastic.
'Room' was more a study of an individual event, and 'The Family' takes off from there.
I have three wonderful siblings, and we all pitched in equally to help our mother.
When I was 20 years old and first with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, we had an 88-seat theater in a basement and no money.
My father passed away at, like, 87.
My mother had very poor hearing for many years, until she went basically into - I guess I would call it a psychotic break. She was OK one day, and the next day she was completely cuckoo, violent, paranoid.
I think plays deserve other interpretations. They should live on, and other people should should take their hand at them. I'm very supportive of that.
My favorite way of learning for acting has been doing it, not talking about it.
It's important to really listen to the other person and have them feel like they're heard, to make sure the relationship feels equal.
Everything starts with what's on the page, what a writer has come up with. And whether it is a big studio film or independent film, is the story being well told? Is it interesting? Is the character interesting? And is there something about the character that may stretch me?
I learn from each experience, and I take it for what it is and gain what I can.
My collaboration with Sally Potter on a small movie, 'Yes,' was very special to me. It helped my growth as an actor.
I thought that I wanted to be a cheerleader because I was one in middle school.
I'm pretty picky about plays.
